Amazon Survival Tour 5D / 4N

Pros: lodge was clean, vegetarian food was available, we saw many animals ( I think any tour will have you seeing many animals though) Cons: guide would just say 'snake, poisonous' or 'heron' or 'toucan'. No explanation no details no other information. We had also communicated that we didn't care for the survival thing and wanted more of a nature tour. This was not communicated to the guide. We asked about night hikes and they said yes but our guide said no. Safety issues? Or is the guide lazy? Who knows. The camping was unpleasant for no reason. Cooking over s fire tool 3 hours and really didn't add anything to the trip. I would prefer just a stove and more time doing something, learning, etc. Food while camping was very unsanitary. I've done many many overnight river trips (not commercial) and even on those we use bleach after washing or put food in Tupperware. Leaving food out for bugs to get in for 6 hours and then saying it's good for dinner... For 400/day we expected more. Bug nets were open on the bottom so my whole bug net INSIDE was crawling with roaches since they just crawl in from the bottom. Again, good gear could avoid this. What is the point of suffering like this when you don't even see more animals or learn what is eadible or how to ID certain plants or how to make anything?! I worked in tourism for many years and have worked as a guide so I feel qualified to say this was not great. We saw another of joshs guides at the lodge who looked equally miserable. My guess is he offered good tours for a while and now pays these guys not great but he gets all the business since we foreigners have to Google things and so they are making not much and hate their jobs and Josh is chilling and riding the wave...justa guess. Either way ... We had fun because I love being outside with my partner and seeing animals and because anywhere can be a good time but the tour did not contribute to that experience.

We booked the 5 days, 4 nights Amazon Survival Tour with Joshua and it was honestly a once in a lifetime experience. Communication beforehand was excellent, everything was well organized, and pickup was perfectly on time. On the way we had some great stops, the Meeting of the Waters, where I even captured an amazing jumping dolphin video, plus a really interesting fish farm. After a mix of boat and car transfers we reached the lodge, with super friendly people, great vibes, and delicious food. Our two guides, Kenrick “Jungle Boy” and Leandro, were incredible. From the first moment in the jungle, they explained so much about how life works out there, how to read the forest, animal tracks and calls, fresh signs on the ground, which plants are useful for food, medicine or tools, and how everything is connected in the ecosystem. They answered every question with patience and real enthusiasm, even after hours in the heat. The pace of the tour felt perfect. We started with a boat tour and there was so much to see and so many moments where Kenrick and Leandro stopped to point out details we would have missed. Once we went deeper into the jungle, they showed us how to build and organize a camp in a way that actually works in that environment. Sleeping in hammocks took a little getting used to, but it became part of the adventure, and mosquito nets were absolutely essential. Over the days we did a longer hike and learned how to move through the forest safely. One of the most special moments was spear fishing at night, the jungle after dark feels intense and beautiful at the same time. On another day we went upstream by boat, and they cleared parts of the path with machetes with impressive skill, always calm and in control. Back at camp we fished, cooked over the fire, and ate really well the whole time. For the last night we moved to a different camp, went piranha fishing and it was delicious, and we even some caiman. We also saw traces of a jaguar and heard its call, plus capuchin monkeys, a tarantula, vultures, and toucans. Yes, this tour may cost a bit more than some others, but after hearing stories from travelers who were disappointed or even scammed elsewhere, it felt completely worth it for the quality, safety, and the real experience. This tour is truly immersive and takes you far upstream, much farther from civilization than many “survival tours” that claim the same thing but only go a short hop past an established camp, and because you’re really out there it’s also a bit rougher in the best way, including simple routines like showering each night on the boat using water straight from the river. One practical note: bring proper hiking shoes and ideally shin protection. Barefoot shoes, even if you normally hike in them, are a bad idea in the jungle because of real risks from spiders, snakes, and scorpions. It would help if the website made that clearer. Huge thanks to Kenrick and Leandro for making this unforgettable, and to Joshua for running such a professional operation. We would recommend booking with them to anyone.

Edson was an excellent expert in flora and fauna. Our boat tour was an indescribable experience. There were so many exciting observations. We are totally thrilled. Edson is an excellent guide and the team on the boat fulfilled all our wishes. Thank you very much. Karin and Josef. 😊🐒🐬🐊

We were in Manaus for the first time and could get to know the Amazon absolutely genuine. An outstanding and super organized tour with a great guide (Daniel) and captain (Francies). We can highly recommend Joshua’s survival tour to all evening adventure seekers!

I had an amazing Survival expedition with Joshua's Amazon Expeditions for five days. Kennedy and Felipe were both very experienced and kept me safe during the entire trip. All the tours (boat and hike) were awesome. I learned a lot from my guide Kennedy how to "survive" and Felipe was awesome at making fires, driving the boat, catching fish & cooking the food. This trip was definitely a highlight for me in my Brasil trip. Really being in the nature and sleeping in your hammock is such a special way to enjoy all the different animals in the Amazon. Next to that Joshua always responds fast and the pick up and drop off at the airport were organized very well. All the transports during the trip were organized very smoothly. I would definitely recommend this company if you want to have an awesome experience in the Amazon!

I was blown away by Joshua's customer service. It felt like a private experience, everything was easy, the communication was fast and clear. They took good care of my wife and I from the moment we dropped out of the plane until we left Manaus 6 days later. About the expedition itself. The best thing about Joshua's experience is the small group number. We got to have a very experienced guide to ourselves! We had all the time to ask as many questions as we wanted, we were indeed able to develop an close relationship with our guide Kennedy, which was an undeniable advantage compared with other companies where there is one guide for 8 travellers. Our accomodation was super clean and the people lovely. They cooked incredible food for us, and made us feel at home from the first moment. I couldn't recommend this company enough, if you are looking for a more customized experience, tailored to your needs, and want to fully enjoy the nature.

This tour was very expensive AUS$1000/pp 1.5 days of the 5 was spent travelling and waiting around to be collected had to catch our own food, one night no catch no eat I estimate total food bill for the company was maybe US$50 for the 4 participants and 2 guides only water to drink and we ran out we only caught 2 fish between 4 paying participants in 5 days of fishing Guide had no interest in telling us much about Amazon Jungle We would sit around for hours (no chairs) on logs in 95 degree humidity with nothing to do Jungle walks were about an hour a day but just walking around aimlessly with no commentary to kill time Day started at 5.00am, breakfast, go for walk an hour, go fishing during middle of day when fish don't bite, have lunch, sleep most of afternoon, go fishing, catch nothing, eat dinner if we caught something, fish and rice every night, go to sleep by 7.00pm then same next day Fishing rods were coke bottles with line around them, we lost 2 hooks and had no spares However Amazon Jungle was amazing but didn't see much of it, guide was useless but driver was an amazing guy, he did everything, set up camp, caught dinner, cleaned up dishes, entertained with catching an alligator and spearing a fish Probably maximum 2 day trip after that bored to death Other tour groups we saw had - modern boats with cushion seats that didn't kill your backside, proper fishing rods and bait, beers and eskies, lots of laughter and fun coming from them It was a 2 day tour stretched to 5 days and charged way over the top Conclusion - glad we saw the Amazon Jungle but never again. I hope the tour company learn from this. To their credit they asked for feedback and were apologetic for our experience